Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence

Sexual Violence: Mutilation of Female Sex Organs: Strategies 2

Al Azhar in Cairo The postage stamp, dating from 1957, commemorated the millenium of Al Azhar. The mosque was built in the 10th century AD and soon became the center of a university. It is one of the oldest in the world. Sunni Muslims consider it the most prestigious institution of Islamic studies.

An important step in obtaining religious and civil support for the end of the traditional sexual mutilations was taken in 2003 in Cairo. Representatives from 28 African and Arab countries affected by the practice issued the Cairo Declaration for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation.
This document was important, because it could not be attributed to uncomprehending Western agitators. Especially signifiant were the statements of the two most influential Islamic and Christian religious leaders in Egypt, the Grand Sheykh of Al-Azhar, H.E. Sheykh Mohammed Sayed Tantawy, and the representative of the Koptic Pope, Shenouda III. Both reaffirmed that “no religious precept either in Islam or Christianity justifies the practice”.
The Cairo Declaration created a new basis for the co-operation between local and international agents for change. For the full text, click here.